


Scapegoat

by Rubyrose0736



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Endgame might change, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-31
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-28 04:07:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8431264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubyrose0736/pseuds/Rubyrose0736
Summary: Basically set in LA, all 4 girls are graduating. Mostly deals with Stacie and her insecurities as a person and in the grand scheme of things.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright so I know this fandom has basically made Stacie be that "breaking stereotypes" role by making her super intelligent AND overly sexual and that's awesome but that's not the direction I'm going. She's going to be behind, academically. Not failing courses but definitely struggling. I know not everyone will agree but it's just the direction I'm going in.  
> It's a huge personal issue that I feel strongly about because I've always been the "smart" one. I'm currently in law school and score extremely well on exams and I've been dating this girl for about 4 years now and she's not what people would consider book smart. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her pick up a book for more than 5 minutes. She loves trashy TV that I can't stand. She's constantly on social media and probably knows nothing about our current presidential election but I love her so much (not despite all those things) I love her because of those things and so many other reasons and it pains my heart when I've met so many people who give her the third degree about how we work and what we get out of this relationship when we're so different intellectually and I want to convey that relationship where it's okay to date someone so damn different than you. 
> 
> Also I know I don't have the best track record of ever finishing Fics but that's honestly just because of law school and losing inspiration. Because this one hits close to home, I'm pretty confident.  
> If you've read all this yay!  
> Also it's more a Stacie fic more than anything else despite where it originally starts out

The thing about Chloe Beale is she pushes buttons. She's insistent and determined and has an obsessive personality. In the best way possible, because it gets her what she wants. Whether it's that internship at USC or the reason why Beca doesn't like movies. Beca's well aware of the open book that is Chloe Beale. Chloe's a warm spring day with an easy smile full of white teeth and the sweetest voice she's ever heard. So it makes Beca's job harder, guarding herself and her feelings because Chloe is the embodiment of a gentle soul. Except when she's trying to tear down Beca's walls. One question at a time.  
If this was a Rom-Com there'd be that moment where Chloe pulls Beca close and whispers how they're going to be fast friends and Beca would feel her determination loosening and she'd be that girl. Who's willing to put down her walls for true love. For a chance to find herself in someone else, but Beca's not naive. She's no romantic and she doesn't like movies.  
So it's been 5 months and Chloe still doesn't know why Beca doesn't like movies, but that's okay.  
Chloe is persistent.

 

Chloe loves Beca for all she is. Chloe has an amazing sense of self understanding and so she knows she can be pushy and adamant. She's always been the pretty girl, the girl next door. The comfort, the support, the bubbly personality and she's okay with that because it's true. She thrives off being the confidant, knowing that if one of her friends is in trouble they'll run to her and spill their darkest secrets, but that never comes with Beca. They've been friends for 5 months and she can probably list the things she knows about Beca in one hand and 2 out of 5 of those things happens to be that she knows Beca's first AND last name (seems like a given, but with Beca, any piece of knowledge is a win) and that she loves music, honestly, that one is a given.  
She knows that Beca doesn't drink coffee because they have this routine of studying at the nearest coffee shop and Beca's never drank coffee.  
So that's 3, maybe she overestimated how much she truly knows about Beca.  
Oh and she hates movies, but she doesn't know why. So it's a half point, but Chloe's persistent and at this point it's a matter of reputation. How can she claim to be the confidant if she can't get one tiny girl to spill why she doesn't enjoy movies.

"Come on Becs, I'll make it worth your while", Chloe throws in a wink to for effectiveness. Which is clearly failing because Beca's mouth goes straight.  
"Jesus, dude, did you just call me Becs?"  
Chloe can feel Beca pulling away and so she panics, quickly sorts through all the ways she can reign Beca in. To keep her grounded because Beca's always been in the sky. Too damn high for anyone to reach and Chloe's short stature (and short comings) aren't helping her reach Beca. She's so close but she was reckless. She let a nickname slide and she can feel Beca's tenseness.  
It reminds her of that Parks and Rec episode where Ron calls his employees by a different name just so they know that he doesn't care about them. She's waiting for Beca to call her Elizabeth and walk away but it never comes.  
Instead Stacie walks in carrying an orange stick. She ignores them and plops down on the sofa turning on the remote. Chloe sees the out and quickly takes it, walking over to Stacie and giving her biggest smile.  
"Hey Stace, what are we watching?"  
Stacie hardly glances at Chloe as she answers "WAGS" and begins tending to her nails with the orange stick.  
Chloe just smiles and nods her head, looking at the television where a girl named Ashley is upset that her fiancée keeps pushing back the wedding date because he's a famous athlete and Chloe finds herself in that good mood again. She wants to be Ashley, where her biggest concern is when her wedding is coming and not where Chloe's current state is. She's always been self assured but around Beca, her confidence goes down the garbage because she can't figure her out. She can't even get the girl to pull down one layer and that's who Chloe is, the girl who opens up people, if she's not that then who is she?

Beca breathes a sigh of relief as Chloe walks over to the sofa. It's getting harder to keep up these walls around Chloe because she's so damn kind. She's used to "you're weird, why don't you like movies?" not Chloe's "is there a particular reason? How about TV shows? because it's fine I hardly watch movies myself. I like them I just hardly have the time, I mean TV shows are much shorter and I feel as if they can expand on characters a lot more throughout seasons instead of within a 2 hour slot" and holy crap Beca feels overwhelmed. Chloe's not judging, it's just sheer curiosity and she offers a piece of herself, inside knowledge that makes it so much harder for Beca to keep quiet. It's wonderful that Chloe's okay with sharing it all but she wishes Chloe didn't expect the same of her.

Beca quickly snaps out of her train of thought as Chloe asks "how many times has Ashley's fiancée pushed back the wedding?" She finds herself answering before Stacie can, she's not sure what prompts her to say "four" but she does, and it's too late. She sees Chloe's lips twitch upward and sees her eyes begin to glow and she knows, just feels it in her bones that she just gave Chloe something to continue this obsession with wanting to know everything about Beca. She gave her a light at the end of the tunnel, a sense of hope, and Chloe's the type to take something so small and run with it for hours.

"O.M.G (did she really just say the letters?) Becs!!!! You've watched WAGS before?!? So is it just movies you don't like? What else don't you like?!" Chloe's aware that her voice keeps going higher in pitch but she can't look within herself to reign it in. She now knows 4 facts about Beca and the world is bright again. She tries to keep the momentum going by barraging questions at Beca in hopes for an answer and she sees Beca turn red, sees Beca's resolve weakening and she's sure she's going to get an answer and peel away a layer from the enigma that is Beca Mitchell. 

She sees Beca's mouth open and she feels her confidence double. She is Chloe Beale, confidant, because she just cracked Beca. Thank you, Stacie.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So someone pointed out Stacie is canonically smart which is totally neat so basically Stacie will be slightly out of character because she won't be super intelligent. I decided to just run with whatever instead of trying to dictate where the story goes  
> Mostly Stacie chapter

Chloe's the paragon of saccharine. It's sickening and nauseating because she's so in tune with her feelings. When she's happy, she's skipping over clouds and humming songs, but when she's angry, she sees red. She's filled to the brim with this rage, this energy and not the good kind. Not the kind that leaves her wanting to run and hug everyone, but the heavy kind. The ones that weighs her body down and tenses it up. The one that makes her hands turn into fists in the hopes of releasing some of the unwanted energy. This type of emotion is rare, she feels it bubbling in her throat and working its way down. Coiling her body and if she was easily upset, then this would be different but upsetting Chloe Beale is a difficult task select few have undergone, most of the instances were Tom's doing. He was sweet and kind but so naive and it was upsetting, but that was beside the point because this anger was directed at Stacie. A minute ago she was thinking of ways to make the taller girl her idol. She had given her the key to Beca's mind and as quick and thoughtlessly as she gave it, she took it away when she interrupted Chloe's questions to ask Beca, "Do you think black nail polish would look weird on me?" And Chloe swears to god she sees Beca's gears turning. She's thinking of a way to avoid Chloe's questions and answer only Stacie's and Chloe can't, won't let that happen. 

She's come so close to cracking the mystery that is Beca. She can feel it in her bones. She's got her right where she wants her and she can't even process the thought of letting her escape when she's skimming the surface so she asks again. 

"Why don't you like movies Beca?" Beca falters because Chloe knows how the shorter girl (which is a feat within itself considering Chloe's always been the short one) works, how her thoughts process. She knows that Beca is rough edges with venomous words. She knows the girl can lash out when it comes to protecting herself but she also knows she's not cruel. She's not rude and evil despite the ear monstrosities and so Beca has a hard time just straight out ignoring Chloe. She sees Beca's mouth open again to respond to Chloe and she's so close. She can taste it in the air but then there's Stacie again.

Fucking Stacie who mutters "Hey Beca, I don't have black nail polish. Can I borrow some?" without even glancing up and the air quickly becomes stale again as Beca says "just a sec, Chloe" as she hurries out of the room.

If looks could kill, Stacie's blood would be splattered against the wall but typical Stacie isn't even looking up and is instead inspecting her own nails and so Chloe huffs and walks away to sulk in her bad mood. Just because she's down doesn't mean she needs to drag anyone else with her. Especially Stacie who's probably never had any malicious idea in her and more specifically didn't sabotage Chloe with Beca.

 

Stacie breathes far more calmly now that Chloe's walked away and she makes quick work of stashing her cuticle pusher in her back pocket as she heads to Beca's room and knocks twice quickly. 

"It's Stacie" she wants to make sure Beca is okay because Chloe is a handful even for Stacie and she's never been one for secrets. She can't begin to imagine how Beca reacts to Chloe considering she's so closed off. She hears a clash and a muttered "fuck!" before she asks "can I come in?"

"Yeah" 

"Hey if you can't find that nail polish, it's alright. Black totally isn't my colour anyway. Like yellow would be better, right?" She takes in Beca with her scrunched eyebrows and her hard set lips. She sees the tint of redness around her ears from their earlier run-in with Chloe and she knows she did the right thing. Distracting Chloe from Beca. To give her room to breathe because Chloe is hot air and it can be suffocating to someone like Beca. 

"No, I have it. Right here." She takes the nail polish out of her pocket and hands it to Stacie.

She nods and begins, "it's cool, I get. She's a lot to handle. Even for me." She surveys the room quickly and notes the contents of Beca's desk are on the floor. The entirety of it scattered across the floor as if it was done on purpose and Stacie wants to question it. Can feel it on the tip of the tongue, but holds back. Beca processes feelings differently and that's okay. Her question would be unwanted and avoided anyway.

"What?" She aware Beca knows what she's referring to but still she clarifies so this topic can continue. That's how it is with Beca. You have to make an effort to continue the conversation, not because she doesn't care but because it's just who she is. Stacie can't explain why, she just knows. She's got this thing about reading people and she's never been wrong thus far.

"Chloe." 

"Oh."

She studies Beca's face as the realisation dawns and she sees the widening of eyes. The darting of eyes between Stacie and the nail polish she's still handing to Stacie. She sees Beca's nails grip the polish and she sees her opening her mouth and closing it quickly.

"Yeah, anyway. Barbie's totally a sweetheart, right? Likes she's just so nice." She doesn't want to make Beca uncomfortable so she changes the subject, allowing Beca a way to to move on with the conversation. 

Beca realises Stacie is giving her the easy way out, the way to avoid the conversation altogether and something bursts within her chest. It spreads throughout her body and it's feeling she hardly feels. Acceptance because Stacie isn't prying like Chloe and she's not judging like Aubrey. She's just accepting Beca at face value and letting the whole situation slip without questioning why Beca's seen WAGs or why Beca hates movies or why Beca anything and she wants to hug the girl but quickly fights the feeling. She wants to do something, anything, to show Stacie how much it means to her without crossing any boundaries. Physically or emotionally so she says "So the whole nail polish thing was just a ruse to get Chloe to pull back?"

"Ruse?"

"Yeah, when you intend to trick someone it's a ruse." Beca explains flippantly and waits for Stacie to answer her question.

She sees Stacie considering her words before she begins, "that makes it sound so..." she trails off and begins to consider her words again.

"Devious?" Beca supplies and she sees the confusion in Stacie's face again and continues, "when someone is willing to trick and lie someone to get what they want, it's devious"

Beca sees Stacie light up and say "yeah! The nail polish wasn't a... ruse because I wasn't trying to be... devious" she says with a smile. Stacie reminds her of that feeling when it was cool to learn. To know new words and feel a sense of pride instead of being labelled a nerd.

"Yeah, no dude, you weren't being devious because you did it for me, right?"

"Yeah." She sees Stacie bring up her nails to study them as she answers and she looks at Stacie in a new light for once. How she's so quick to answer when she's working on her cuticles and watching her reality TV shows but never when she's not distracted and she wants to question it but she knows she won't offer any information back so she goes with "Thanks, man. It means a lot."

"Wanna go back and watch WAGs?" She hears the hesitance in Stacie's voice. The fear of rejection and she quickly says "yeah" without a second thought because she can't stand to hear that tone. 

They silently walk down the stairs and sit on the couch and Stacie raises the volume. From the corner of her eye she can see Stacie fidgeting and glancing at Beca every few seconds. She wants to grab Stacie and steady her but she waits patiently until Stacie's ready to share. In the mean time she's got WAGs and this feeling of acceptance.

 

"Thanks for explaining the words" she hears although Stacie practically whispers it. 

"Why wouldn't I explain it?" She wonders what type of assholes Stacie's encountered that won't explain the meaning of a word they used.

"No, I mean, people explain, but like..." she sees Stacie thinking of what to say so she turns her body to watch Stacie instead of the TV.

"Like Aubrey. When I asked her what sepulchre meant she said mausoleum and I didn't know what that was either so I had to look both up and like with Chloe when I asked what pretentious means she said 'you know like Jesse' and it just confused me more because that wasn't a definition and so I had to look it up".

"You're free to use me as your human dictionary"

Stacie shakes her head and chuckles. "thanks, Becs!"


	3. Chapter 3

Stacie flashes her biggest smile toward Beca and holds in her laughter.  
Beca's face has gone red, "Dude! Not cool, you asshole!"   
"Oh? Did I not say it with enough pep?" She taunts. "Maybe if I smile while I say it, it'll seem more Chloe-ish".  
Beca wants to tell Stacie no. She'll never be Chloe-like because Chloe is unique. She's too good for this world with her questions and her vivacity. If Chloe was anyone else, she'd have ditched Beca sooner. She'd have grown tired of asking questions and receiving silence. She'd have realised Beca just isn't worth her breath but Stacie's a different type of good. The pure innocent kind because Chloe is all about the taunting and the longing looks. Chloe's the type to throw in a wink just to leave Beca speechless and short of breath because she thrives off attention and contact. Stacie just isn't Chloe.

"Maybe if you stop groping your boobs while saying 'Becs' it'll have that Chloe effect"

Stacie quickly glances down at her breasts, just to make sure she's not touching them because at this point she's never aware of when she does it. It just happens.

She sees Beca throw herself back on the couch in a fit of laughter and knows she's been played. 

"Christ do you even know when you're touching yourself?!" Beca hears it the second she says it. She's waiting for that comment. The inappropriate one. 

"Not really, it's my thing." 

Right, this isn't Chloe. Chloe would have jumped at the chance to see Beca flustered and since when did this happen? Since when does Beca know what Chloe would say, since when does Beca's mind drift off to Chloe?

"Your thing?"

"Yeah like you and your music." Beca nods, now that she understands. Music is her lifeline. Her first love, her everything. Then she realises they're talking about grabbing boobs and she shakes her head.

"Your thing is groping your boobs?" 

"No, sex is." If this was Chloe, she'd have ran out of the room. Or passed out from embarrassment. Call her repressed, shy or a prude, but where Beca was raised sex was a taboo subject. Never to be spoken of aloud, especially as casually as Stacie says it.

"Dude."

"What? It's true. You love music, I love sex."

Beca wants to roll her eyes at Stacie because who truly can love sex THAT much. Sure, it's enjoyable. She's not one to decline sex, but to say it's her passion. No way and she wants to tell Stacie as such. She wants to say that sex is sex and it's not a first love but she's heard that speech far too many times. About how her love is nothing but a pastime and she won't do that to Stacie. She won't be her father and crush her dreams like he tried to do hers. 

Beca's strong and resilient, the opposite of Stacie because she's sensitive and so open. Never weak. She's strong in the emotion filled way because Stacie doesn't apologise for her feelings. Doesn't feel regret over feeling a certain way. Not the way Beca does.

"Is there anything you love more than sex? Something just fills you to the brim and you feel it radiating off of you. Something that surges within you?" She says before she can control her mouth. The words were rushed but the question was still there. 

She sees Stacie cast her eyes downward and bite her lip.

"Brim?" Beca wants to laugh, of course Stacie focuses on the word she doesn't know to buy herself more time. She wants to ask why Stacie puts so much effort into voicing her thoughts. She's slowly becoming Chloe apparently with the endless questions.

"To be filled to the point where it's basically overflowing"

She sees Stacie's brow furrow again and knows she needs more time to think so she continues "Sometimes I lie awake at night hearing this tune and I can't sleep unless I pull out a pad of paper and write it down. It's like my body is so full of this music that it just buzzes with energy and as soon as I write it on paper the energy is transferred... does that make sense?"

"Yeah. I like pottery."

"As in like vases?" 

"It can be vases. I normally make candle holders or different animals." 

Stacie's looking down at her nails again. "Dude."  
Stacie looks up when she hears Beca's tone. She's never told anyone about her pottery. It's too weird of a hobby. Too difficult to explain why she loves moulding clay. Too hard to say that it was the one activity she had growing up that was all her. It wasn't ballroom dancing or playing the piano. It wasn't the countless tutors and dance classes she had. It was her own. For too long she felt like clay, moulded by her own mother. There was something about being the one in control now. 

"You need to show me." She glances up and sees the genuine interest in Beca's face and she wants to ask why. Why she cares or why she wants to see something that's so boring. Glazing and moulding isn't entertaining or exciting like manipulating different beats. It isn't creating tunes out of synthesisers.  
"Um you know that key bowl I bought home?"

"YOU MADE THAT?"   
Stacie almost turns around to look for one of the girls because there's no way Beca just raised her voice in excitement. She can't help the laughter that escapes from her mouth "omg, you just sounded like Chloe like exactly like her."

"Whatever."  
\-----------------------------------------  
Chloe feels something in her gut. An unknown feeling. It isn't anger, she's aware of that because her hands aren't turning into fists the way they normally do but the feeling is just as intense and it's eating away at her. She should have stood in her room. She should have never came down, but she wanted to apologise to Beca. For pushing her the way she did but instead she's hiding behind the wall eavesdropping.

Fucking eavesdropping. 

Chloe will do many things to get the answers she wants, but she's never stooped so low. Then again, no ones made her work like Beca has and so when she heard Beca talking about energy from music she couldn't stop herself. So she listened. She found out what it is that attracts Beca to music and at first she felt pride for knowing something so intimate and the moment she realised she wasn't the desired recipient of this knowledge this new feeling took over. 

She didn't often question herself but she couldn't stop herself this time. What was wrong with her? Why didn't Beca trust her? Why did Beca trust Stacie? She wanted to ask these questions directly at Beca but she wouldn't get any answers anyway so instead she walks away with this feeling of uncertainty and apprehension.

She walks out the door and sits on the patio as she calls Aubrey and taps her fingers against the floor as she waits for Aubrey to answer.

"Posen." She breathes a sigh of relief, at least some things never change.

"It's me."

"Oh hey, you okay?" The concern in Aubrey's voice is evident and she can't help but smile, despite this feeling gnawing at her.

"Why are you asking?" 

"Come on, Chlo. It's insulting to me and our relationship when you insinuate that I don't know you. You never call me before 4:30PM because you know I'm still at work and you didn't answer my question which means something isn't okay. I'm getting off soon. Rocky road okay?"

Chloe feels her resolve break slightly and she just wants to cry to Aubrey. Tell her how she doesn't feel herself when she's around Beca. She questions herself too much and she's just frustrated but she knows it'll make Aubrey worried so instead she says "yeah, Bree. I'm okay. I'll tell you when you get here, okay? Drive safely. Love you"   
"Love you too, princess." It's the nickname Aubrey gave her years ago on the day they first met. She told Chloe there was no other person as nice as Chloe beside a princess and now it's special. Sacred. It's reserved for those moments where Chloe feels down. When her feelings are eating away at her, when she questions herself like she is now and she knows that when Aubrey comes home they'll cuddle in her Bed watching Mean Girls while Chloe spills all her insecurities.


End file.
